Atlanta Hawks: Kyrie Irving Trade Sets Back Rebuild
By Kit Anderson
Kyrie Irving has been traded to the Boston Celtics in a deal that has set back the Atlanta Hawks rebuild and made the Boston Celtics the team of the future. It should change the direction that the Hawks are headed.
Trading Kyrie Irving to the Boston Celtics the Cleveland Cavaliers set themselves up to dominate this season and Boston to be the beast in the East for the future. In case you somehow missed it the Cleveland Cavaliers granted Kyrie Irving’s request to be traded and sent him to the rival Boston Celtics in a surprising move.
In exchange the Cavs received Isaiah Thomas and Jae Crowder along with a young center and most importantly a first round pick from the Nets. The trade sets up both teams in better positions and essentially decided the Eastern conference finals.
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What does this mean for the Atlanta Hawks? It means that the Hawks rebuild has just been set back at least another two years. The Celtics just became a very good team not only right now but a good young team that has their best basketball ahead of them.
Acquiring Kyrie Irving gives them a star that they can build around for years to come if they can get Irving to commit as they hope that he will after playing in Boston. If Irving does commit the Hawks will have their rebuild set back by the deal considering how long the Celtics could stay a top team in the East.
Not only that but adding a very big bargaining chip in a first round pick the Cavs are likely not done yet even after adding Thomas and Jae Crowder. The Hawks are going to have to adopt a new strategy this coming off-season. Not only will they have to draft well and focus on young talent but they are going to have to look to trade for at least one star to add to their roster over the next two seasons.
If they are unable to do that, the rebuild will last much longer than expected. In today’s NBA rebuilding the traditional way just won’t cut it.